Hauntings from the Past
by Elynara
Summary: Nikki has a surprise visitor, but are they more dangerous than they seem?
1. Chapter 1

As Leo was arriving at work he spotted a young girl in the waiting room. She glanced up as he approached her, but looked away again as she seemed to realise this wasn't who she was waiting for. "Excuse me?" Leo asked, "Can I help you?" The girl looked surprised for a moment then replied "I'm waiting for Nikki.....Nikki Alexander." As she finished her sentence she resumed staring at the floor again, fiddling with a lock of hair hanging over her face. "Is she expecting you?" questioned Leo. The girl looked up again and smiled. "Oh, yes." Leo frowned, there was something about the girl that looked so familiar, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. He shook his head dismissively and walked off, heading for his office.

He spotted Nikki sitting at her desk and went over. "There's a girl in reception. Says you're expecting her." As Leo carried on towards his office Nikki looked up, confused "A girl? Who?" Leo stopped and turned "She didn't tell me her name." He walked back over to where Nikki was sitting and continued, "Just that she was waiting for you, and that you are expecting her." "I'm not expecting anyone," Nikki stated as she stood up. "I better go and see who she is!"

Leo put his hand on Nikki's arm to stop her. "Wait, just look first," he said as he pointed towards the tinted window looking out into reception. "See if you recognise her. There is something strange about her, in her eyes...something I can't quite put into words" Nikki looked to where Leo was pointing. The girl was still sitting in the same place, staring at the floor just as she was when Leo left her, her dark hair now pushed away from her face leaving her big blues eyes unmissable.

Nikki stared. She thought, just for a second....but as she looked closer the girl no longer resembled anyone familiar "I've never seen her before in my life" Nikki stated.

**Thank you for reading! If people like it I will upload another chapter.**

**I know this chapter is a bit slow, but I think it will get better if the ideas in my head are anything to go by :D**

**Lottie x**


	2. Chapter 2

Nikki headed towards reception, curious to find out who the girl was. As she walked through the doors the girl looked up. "Nikki!" she gasped, standing up to greet the woman. Nikki frowned, unnerved by the fact that the girl seemed to know exactly who she was.

"Erm, I don't mean to sound rude but....who on earth are you?" she questioned, just as Harry was arriving for work. The girl looked hurt as she replied "Maddy!"

A flash of recognition was noticeable in Nikki's eyes, just for a second. She looked away from the girl before replying "There must be some mistake. I don't know anyone called Maddy." She turned to see Harry standing against the door, propping it open. She walked through the open door leaving the girl standing in reception. Harry saw anger in the girls eyes before she stormed out of the building.

As Harry entered the lab he saw Nikki sitting at her desk, seemingly absorbed in her work. "What was all that about?" he asked. She pretended not to hear him. "Nikki?" This time she looked up from her work to reply "Nothing. She had the wrong person, that's all." With that she resumed typing, signifying that was all she had to say on the matter. Harry sighed as he sat down at his desk. He knew Nikki well enough to know that she was lying, but he wasn't going to risk a falling out by pushing it.

Hours flew by and suddenly it was time to go home. Harry stood up to get his coat on but Nikki didn't show any signs of moving. "Nikki?" Harry asked. "Are you planning on going home at all today." Nikki looked up suddenly, snapping out of her daydream. "Oh..I didn't realise the time." She stood up and began to pull her coat on slowly. "Are you sure you're ok, Nikki?" Harry questioned. "I am fine, will you stop going on at me!" Nikki yelled before gathering her things and walking out.

Maddy was stood around the corner of the building, her eyes on the main entrance. She had been there for hours, just waiting for the moment. Darkness had fallen when the time finally came. She saw Nikki leave the building, this was it! But just as she went to round the corner she felt something push her against the wall with force. She grunted as her head hit the concrete. "Where does she live?" snarled a voice. "What? I...w-w-where does who l-live?" Maddy stuttered. "Dr Alexander....tell me where she lives." The girl whimpered before replying "I...I don't know. If I knew t-that, I wouldn't be....wouldn't be watching from outside her workplace." The man, as vicious as he sounded, seemed to know the girl was telling the truth. He sighed impatiently and pushed her against the wall once more before walking off.

Maddy staggered around the corner in the direction of the main entrance. Nikki had gone now. As Harry was leaving the building he saw the girl a few feet away. "Are you ok?" he shouted. The girl looked up startled. She started backing away before turning around and breaking into a run. Harry frowned as he got into his car.

**Well, here is chapter 2. Hope it is getting a little more interesting to read now :D Thanks to charlotte88 and langfieldl for reviewing Chapter 1. Not sure when Chapter 3 will be ready as I have a lot of lab reports to write and potential houses to view :/**

**Lottie x**


	3. Chapter 3

A couple of days had passed and the girl hadn't bothered Nikki anymore. Nikki was glad of this fact. The girl reminded her of things. Of the past. She didn't know who the girl was, only who she was claiming to be. But it couldn't be. Her father had identified the body all those years ago. There had been DNA evidence proving it was her....

Nikki shook the memory from her mind. 8 years later it still hurt to think of it. She looked at the clock hanging on the wall, then to the window. It was 6.50am but it was still pitch black outside. She hated the long winter darkness. She finished off the last drain of coffee in her mug and grabbed her things, ready to head out to work.

As she stepped outside of her apartment she shivered as the cold hit her. She walked to her car and went to put the key in the door. As she did so she thought she heard something behind her. As she turned she felt something collide with her skull causing her to fall to the ground...unconcious.

An hour later and Harry was sitting in the Lyell Centre, occasionally looking at his watch. Leo came out of his office and spotted Harry looking worried. "Something wrong, Harry?" he questioned as the younger pathologist glanced up at him. "Nikki was supposed to be at work 40 minutes ago, Leo. I tried calling and she's not answering her phone." Leo looked briefly concerned before replying. "Maybe she's stuck in traffic!" Harry tutted, "traffic causing her to be..." he looked at his watch again, "...45 minutes late?!" he exclaimed. "Well, this is London." Leo responded. "Look, we'll give her another hour and if she's not here by then I'll let you go round to her apartment and see what's keeping her, OK?" Harry sighed then nodded. It wasn't like Nikki to be late without an explanation.

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**Another short chapter because it's the weekend, yay! :D**


	4. Chapter 4

Nikki groaned quietly as she began to regain conciousness. She moved slightly and winced as pain erupted at the back of her head. She reached up and placed her hand where it felt most painful. She then looked at the same hand. No blood. That was a good sign at least. She glanced around, trying to recall how she had ended up on the floor.

Harry was pacing up and down the science room. 50 minutes had passed since he had informed Leo that Nikki hadn't arrived. "Can I go yet?" he asked Leo, impatience evident in his voice. Leo looked at his watch before replying "Ok, go. Call me when you find out anything." With that Harry grabbed his car keys and dashed out to his car. He got in and headed straight to Nikki's. When he got there he saw her car still parked on the street. He went to the door and rang the bell. He waited....no reply. He rang it again, multiple times. Still no reply. He went over to Nikki's car and looked around. Nothing there either. He sighed and was just about to give up when he spotted something glinting in the daylight, just underneath the car. He knelt down to have a closer look, reaching underneath the car to grab the object. "Shit!" he exclaimed as he inspected the object....Nikki's car keys...Harry ran back to his car pulling his mobile out of his pocket and dialling Nikki's mobile number as he ran.

Nikki was starting to remember. She had...gone to her car, something had hit her on the head and then...it all went dark. When she woke up she was here, wherever "here" was. Just then she heard her mobile phone ringing in her pocket. The sudden noise made her gasp in shock. She reached into her pocket quickly and pulled her phone out. 'Harry calling' the display read. Nikki answered it and whispered "Harry!" Harry breathed a sigh of relief. "Nikki, where are you?" Nikki looked around again. "I...I don't know Harry" she let out a small sob "I just don't know. I was going to my car and then...." she heard footsteps approaching, "I've got to go." She hung up and quickly shoved the phone back into her pocket. A second later the door opened and a figure approached.

"Nikki. Nikki don't hang up!" but it was too late. Harry put his head into his hands and sighed, trying to gather his thoughts for a moment. Then he dialled another number. It rang for a little while then a voice answered. "Professor Leo Dalton." the voice announced. "Leo! Nikki's gone." Leo frowned "What do you mean 'gone'?" Harry got into his car "I'm coming to the lab. I'll be 10 minutes max. I'll explain everything when I get there..." With that he hung up and set off, leaving Leo to wonder what on Earth was going on.

When Harry arrived at the Lyell Centre he found Leo pacing around the science centre impatiently. "What the hell is going on?" Leo exclaimed as Harry entered. Harry took a deep breath and began to try his best to explain. "I went to Nikki's apartment and there was no answer. Her car keys had been dropped by her car and just left there and she was nowhere! I rang her and she answered...she's ok...for now, but...god Leo...she sounded so scared. We've gotta contact the police." Leo let out a worried sigh, "I'll call the police. They'll find her Harry."

Half an hour later and the police had arrived at the centre. They were asking the team whether they had seen anyone or anything suspicious in the past few days. They both said they hadn't, but then it struck Harry. "The girl!" he cried. "It's got to be the girl. You said it yourself Leo, there's was something strange about her. She came to see Nikki, and when Nikki sent her away she was angry. I saw it in her eyes before she stormed out of here. Then she was hanging around the building for days afterwards" When he finished he looked from Leo to the police officer. The officer was the first to reply, "do you have an address for this girl?" Harry and Leo both shook their head, "we don't even know her full name...just 'Maddy'...Madeleine?" Harry queried. The officer sighed, this wasn't much to go on.

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**I'm on a roll today! A longer chapter this time. I'm trying not to give much away too soon though hence the short chapters aha.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Thanks to everyone who has reviewed the story so far. I'm not sure I like this chapter, but I've been revising so hard I needed to write SOMETHING to cure the boredom :P Enjoy! x**

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The rest of the day seemed to last forever. Harry stayed at work - it was all he could do not to go out of his mind with worry. Everytime the phone rang he leapt up to answer it, hoping it would be good news. But nothing was heard. When it was time for him to go home there was still no news. It had now been 24 hours since he had last seen Nikki. He took a detour on his way home, to accomodate a drive along Nikki's street. He didn't know why, he didn't hope to come across anything. As he drove along though he saw someone standing outside of Nikki's house. Harry watched as they rang the doorbell, then looked around shiftily. As they did so Harry saw a strand of long brown hair fall down their back as it became disloged from where it had been tucked inside their coat. Harry realised then who it was..

He yanked the car door open and ran at the girl. She didn't have time to react before he pinned her against the door. "Where is she?" he whispered, trying to control his anger. The terrified girl tried to free herself from his grip, but it was useless. She looked up at him, her big blue eyes wide with fear. Harry felt his stomach lurch. Those eyes....they reminded him so much of Nikki's, despite the colour difference. This just fuelled his anger. "TELL ME WHERE SHE IS!" he shouted. The girl shook her head "I .... what do you mean? I thought she would be here." Harry looked at the girl, exasperated. "You mean you haven't taken her?" Suddenly the fear in Maddy's eyes changed to something else....worry. "What do you mean? What's happened to Nikki?" Harry wondered for a moment whether or not the girl could be trusted. Just 5 minutes ago he had suspected her. Regardless he began to speak. "Nikki has....gone. She's been taken. We don't know where, we don't know who by. So if you know ANYTHING...you have to tell me."

For a moment there was silence then Maddy spoke. "I'm going to need my arm..." She looked up at where her arm was still held in place by Harry's strong grip. He released her and she pulled the backpack off her back and began pulling random things out, obviously looked for something in particular. Harry glanced at the objects in a slightly bemused way; a small pile of clothes, a hairbrush, toothbrush..."Have you been living on the streets?" he asked. Maddy just looked up and smiled before returning to the search, pulling yet more stuff out of her backpack. Plastic wallets containing documents, a notebook, and a passport... He picked the passport up and read the name inside it. As he did so he gasped, looking up at the girl, who had almost reached the bottom of her backpack. "Alexander?" he asked. Maddy looked up again, before snatching the passport out of his hand and replacing it with a piece of paper. It had some words on and Harry read it carefully, frowning. It was a name and address. "How is this relevant?" he questioned Maddy as she stuffed her belongings back into the backpack. When everything was back in she stood up and pointed at the name on the piece of paper. "This man brought me to England. He's a friend of my father's. He's.....not a nice man. He thinks he should have everything he wants." Maddy looked away as she said the last part, then paused for a moment before continuing. "The other day I was waiting outside of the place Nikki works. I just wanted to speak to her...I didn't know where she lived. Then a man came up and asked me where Nikki lived. He didn't ask nicely either." Another pause. "Anyway, his voice...it sounded so familiar, I didn't know why. But it just hit me. It was his voice!" She pointed again at the piece of paper. Harry looked at the piece of paper, then back at her. "Are you sure?" he asked. Maddy nodded. "Absolutely positive."

Nikki lay on the ground of a small bedroom. She didn't know whose. Her captor had been in a few times but he hadn't spoke. She didn't know what he wanted with her, why she was here. She didn't know why, but this lack of knowledge scared her even more. She heard footsteps approaching yet again and the door creaked open. She looked up and there he was again. A tall man, in his 50's, with a big menacing scar down his left cheek. This time he spoke. "Well, well, well Miss Alexander. What are we going to do with you?" Nikki didn't speak. "What's the matter? Cat got your tongue? You used to be quite the little chatterbox." Nikki just frowned at the man, wondering how he know what she "used" to be like. Without warning the man slapped Nikki across the face, causing her to topple over and hit her head against the floor. She pulled herself up and looked at the man in shock, tears beginning to run down her cheek. "Your father.." the man began, "owes me a lot of money. Only he seems to have disappeared. You wouldn't happen to know where his is would you?" Nikki shook her head. She hadn't seen her father for almost a year now.

"Shame." The man continued, "I'll just have to make do with what I've got. Although it would have been much more fun to 'damage' him directly." He walked closer to Nikki and grabbed her face. Nikki flinched as he did so and diverted her gaze away from him as he turned her head to face him. "Of course I was thinking of getting at him using the precious South African cargo. But hey! What affect would hurting a dead girl have on him?" This last part made no sense to Nikki. She couldn't help but ask..."South African cargo?" The man looked mildly surprised, "Oh, I thought you would have met her by now." Nikki gasped "You mean the girl? She came to my work place...Who is she?" The man laughed "Oh come on Dr Alexander, I thought you were smart!" Nikki's frown deepened. "It can't be...my father identified the body." Another laugh from the man. "You trusted Victor Alexander with something that important? Christ, he was probably drunk." Nikki tried to take in what the man was saying. "So she's really..? But where was she, all that time." she asked the man. "Some psycho woman. Lost her kid, stole someone elses." the man replied casually. "They were very good to her. Gave her an education. Quite the little brainiac." he scoffed. "Someone STOLE my sister? They stole her and they didn't even care that she had a family out there looking for her...And nobody noticed that they had suddenly gained a child that looked nothing like their previous one." Nikki didn't seem to be talking to anyone in particular anymore. She couldn't quite believe that her sister was alive after all of these years. She'd grown up and Nikki wasn't there to see it. She let out a small sob and the man left the room. He'd said his piece..

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**Not sure when I'll have time to upload the next part - Exam fortnight :X**

**Also, I can't seem to stop referring to Maddy as "the girl". Poor Maddy! XD.**

**Lottie x**


	6. Chapter 6

An hour later and Harry was still trying to convince the police that Nikki was at the address Maddy had. It didn't seem to be very successful, they were still complaining about "lack of evidence" and not being able to just storm into someone's house without a warrant. Harry kicked the wall in frustration and heard Maddy sigh impatiently. "Come onnnnn!" she whined. "Why do we have to wait for them. Let's just go." Harry shook his head. "This man could be dangerous! We have to wait for police back-up. We can't just go storming in there"

Suddenly Maddy started walking away from Harry. "Where are you going?!" Harry yelled after her. "She stopped for a moment and turned her head to reply to him. "I'm going to get my sister back," and with that she turned back, her hair flicking as she spun her head, and continued walking. Harry looked on, exasperated. These Alexander girls sure were stubborn. He sighed in resignation before running to his car and getting in. Maddy was half way down the street now. He drove along and pulled up beside her. "Get in." he instructed. The girl frowned and Harry elaborated, "Let's go and find Nikki." Maddy smiled smugly at the fact that Harry had given in to her demands. She got in the car and Harry pulled away.

Nikki was still huddled in the same room, only right now she wasn't alone. Her kidnapper sat in front of her on a wooden chair. He twiddled a Stanley knife between his finger and thumb. Grinning menacingly he looked at Nikki and said "Now then, which part of you shall we send Daddy first?" As Nikki looked up at him through the hair that was hanging over her face he held up the knife. He took a think strand of her long blonde hair and sliced a big chunk off with the knife. "We'll start small." he laughed, the scar on his face creasing with the laughter. He looked away for a moment and Nikki took this moment to act. She leapt up, pushing him off the chair and ran out of the room. She didn't know where she was going, she didn't know the layout of the house, she just needed to find a way out. She ran down the stairs and saw the front door ahead of her. A moment of relief as she reached it and turned the handle....then she sobbed in dismay....locked. She heard heavy footsteps and turned to see the man running down the stairs, straight at her. She ran through the door to her right but he caught up with her. With one swift movement he grabbed her with one hand and slashed her arm with the knife in his other hand. Nikki cried out in pain and clamped her hand over the wound. Blood gushed out and a look of horror spread across Nikki's face as she realised he had hit an artery. She looked up at him to see that menacing smile plastered across his face again as he watched the events in front of him. "You're not going anywhere." he whispered. Nikki whimpered and started to sway slightly as she continued to lose blood.

Harry was getting impatient. All of these estates looked the same. Maddy was sitting in the passenger seat holding a map. "It SHOULD be just round this next corner." she stated, uncertainty evident in her voice. Harry rounded the corner and sure enough the street sign read "Webber Street". Maddy pointed when she saw it, "this is it!" Harry slowed down and glanced briefly at the piece of paper Maddy was holding. "What number was it?" he asked. Maddy looked at the paper once more "36" she replied. Harry spotted the house and pulled up outside. Before he had even turned off the engine Maddy had left the car and was hammering on the door. Harry sighed. This wasn't the way he was going to proceed. He got out of his car and pulled out his mobile, dialling a number as he ran up to where Maddy was standing, still fiercely pounding on the door. "Shush!" Harry whispered urgently, as he pressed his ear against the door. And there it was....it was faint but he could just about hear it. Nikki's phone ringing inside of the house. Then he was cut off and there was silence....

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**Dum de dum. I still haven't thought of a name for "the man" yet. Next chapter will probably be sometime after my Biology exam. Maybe at the weekend :D Hope you enjoy!**

**Lottie x**


	7. Chapter 7

**Dum de dum. Why I am awake at 6am writing fanfiction after a night out is beyond me! That is the curse of Red Bull laced with vodka. Anyhoo, I quite enjoyed writing this chapter, so I hope you will enjoy reading it :)**

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Harry wasn't gonna wait around for the man to invite him in for a chat and a cup of coffee. He pushed Maddy aside gently and with all the strength he had he slammed his body against the door. The force caused the lock to break and the door flew open. Harry ran in and spotted Nikki straight away. He didn't see anyone else so he assumed the man ran thinking the police had found him. He ran over to Nikki and Maddy followed cautiously. Harry gasped as he got closer to Nikki, lying on the floor in a small pool of her own blood.

Her eyes were barely open and she was freezing. "Nikki? Nikki it's ok, I'm here now." As Harry spoke Nikki's eyelids fluttered open a tiny bit more. "Harry...?" she whispered so softly that it was barely audible. "Shhhh," Harry said soothingly as he ripped a strip from his shirt. He took a look at the cut, breathing a tiny sigh of relief, before tying the material around it tightly to stop the bleeding. It was bad, but it could have been a whole lot worse. The blade had only caught the artery slightly. This was a small consolation. It was just lucky it wasn't the brachial artery. There was still hope if they got her to hospital soon.

Harry heard a gasp from behind him. He turned to see a rugged man with one arm around Maddy's neck and in his other hand he held a stanley knife to her throat. He nodded towards Harry, "try anything, and I'll kill her." Harry sighed, looking from Madeleine to Nikki, then back to Madeleine again. "Go to hell, Benson" Maddy snarled, angrily. Then, before Harry could do anything, Maddy elbowed the man....'Benson'.... in the stomach sharply. The shock caused him to drop the knife and Harry reacted swiftly, picking the knife up from the floor before the man had a chance to collect it. He pointed the knife at Benson, and stated "let her go." He did so and the girl jumped forward, away from him. Harry looked around the room, and spotted a dressing gown on the back of a chair. "Maddy?" he asked. "Go and fetch me that dressing gown." He pointed with the hand that wasn't holding the knife. The girl didn't seem to hear him so he said again, "Maddy?" he looked up at her vacant expression. She was simply staring at the man. Harry sighed and began to back away, towards the dressing gown, still pointing the knife at Benson and not once taking his eyes off him. He reached the chair and grabbed the dressing gown.

Underneath it was a scarf, so he took that as well. He walked back to Benson. "Turn around and put your hands behind your back. NOW!" Benson gave Harry a hateful look, but did as Harry had asked. Harry put the knife on the floor behind him, away from the man, and began to tie his hands behind his back using the belt from the dressing gown. "Now face me and sit on the floor." Again, the man did as he was asked and Harry tied his feet together using the scarf.

He turned to pick up the knife but it was gone. He saw movement out of the corner of his eye and looked up to see Maddy holding the knife. She was walking towards Benson, her face still vacant of emotion. "Maddy?" Harry asked cautiously, "what...are you doing?" There was no reply. She stopped near the man and just stood, pointing the knife at him, never taking her eyes off him. Harry took a step closer, carefully. When she didn't react he took another step towards her and slowly put his hand on her shoulder. "Maddy...don't do anything stupid." He ran his hand down her arm to the hand holding the knife. "Give it to me..." he thought for a second, "we really need to get Nikki to hospital." Those words had the effect Harry hoped they would have. Maddy released her grip on the knife and took a few steps backwards until she reached the wall. She slid down it and when she reached the floor she pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. Still she said nothing. Harry slid the retractable blade inwards and slipped the knife into his pocket before running to the phone. He quickly dialled '999' and asked for an ambulance and police. Once they had confirmed the address he hung up and went to check on Nikki. He felt her pulse, it was even weaker than before.

He sighed impatiently, willing the ambulance to hurry up. He wished there was more he could do to help Nikki, but nothing else could be done until the paramedics arrived. 10 minutes later he heard sirens. He kissed Nikki softly on the forehead then ran to the door, glancing at Maddy as he passed her. She was still in the same position against the wall, hugging her knees close to her chest. The ambulance pulled up and the paramedics got out. "In here." Harry indicated towards Nikki slumped on the floor. The paramedics rushed over. Another set of sirens were heard as the police arrived. As the paramedics got Nikki into the ambulance, with Harry's help, the police hand-cuffed Benson before putting him into the back of the police car and leaving to take him to the station.

Once Harry was sure Nikki was being properly looked after he went back into the house to get Maddy. He walked over to where she was sitting and he crouched down beside her. She didn't look up, or even acknowledge his presence. She wasn't aware of what was going on around her. Everything seemed to be a blur. She kept thinking. Thinking about Nikki, lying there, pale and almost lifeless. She thought of how she had been within inches of the man that did that to her sister. How she could have killed him there and then. Got rid of him for good. That thought scared her. That wasn't the kind of person she was. She didn't kill people. That wasn't the kind of person Nikki had raised her to be. Again she thought back to Nikki. She'd only just got her back, she couldn't lose her again. She felt herself leave the ground and she bounced back to reality. She looked around confusedly. Things were moving. She gathered her thoughts and realised Harry was carrying her. She looked at him and he gave her a small, forced smile. "C'mon," he said, "I'll take you to the hospital and we'll make sure Nikki is going to be ok." He opened the car door, with somewhat of a struggle considering he had no hands free, and placed Maddy on the back seat before closing the door and getting into the driver's seat. He started the engine and pulled away, heading for the hospital.

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**Spot the random dialogue added simply because I was fed up of referring to the man as "the man" :D **

**I didn't go into much detail of what the paramedics were doing either, simply because I didn't wanna make up loads of wrong-sounding medical...ness lol ^_^**

**Reviews make me happy.**

**Lottie x**


	8. Chapter 8

**Ahhh I haven't uploaded in so long, it's been hectic! Frantic revision turned me into a sleepless zombie and then I had lab reports to do and experiments and coursework and then exam results came out and *breathes* Anyway, thought I would upload a nice chapter since I'm in a good mood :) Enjoy!**

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Harry and Maddy were sitting in the waiting room, still waiting for news on Nikki. Harry was sitting upright on his chair, tapping impatiently on the arm, whilst Maddy was curled up on her chair, legs pulled close to her chest again, and her head resting on the chair arm. Harry wondered if she had fallen asleep. Her hair had fallen over her eyes so he couldn't tell. Eventually, after what seemed like a lifetime, a doctor came out and walked over to Harry. "Dr Cunningham?" he asked, and Harry nodded in reply, standing up as he did so. The doctor shook his hand, "I'm Dr Anderson, I've been treating Nicola."

"How is she?" Harry asked Dr Anderson. The man looked Harry in the eye, "I'm pleased to say she is doing well. We have managed to repair the artery and she is currently receiving a blood transfusion. Obviously the next few hours are crucial, but as far as I can see, there should be no complications." Harry breathed out a huge sigh of relief. " Can we see her?" The doctor smiled and nodded, "of course you can." Harry reached out and shook the doctor's hand again, "thank you, thank you so much." The doctor smiled, "just doing my job," he said, before walking away. Harry looked around at Maddy, who was sitting up now, and had been listening intently to what the doctor had been telling Harry. "Come on then," he said to her, smiling, "let's go see Nikki." Maddy got up and followed Harry along to Nikki's ward. When they got there she was sleeping. Harry opened the door and went in quietly, holding the door open for Maddy, but she paused outside and whispered to him, "what if she still doesn't know who I am? What if Benson didn't tell her?" Harry pondered for a second. He hadn't thought about that. "Well you can just sit in the corner, and when she wakes up we'll see what she knows." He smiled at the girl, who still looked worried, but nodded and followed Harry into the room, before taking a seat in the corner furthest away from the bed.

An hour later and Nikki still hadn't awoken. Harry had fallen asleep on the chair, his hand clasped around Nikki's. Maddy was curled up on her chair, in the same way she seemed to have a habit of sitting, knees pulled close to her chest. Harry felt movement underneath his hand and woke up straight away. Nikki was beginning to stir. "Nikki?" he asked. He felt her hand squeeze his and heard a faint murmur, "Harry? What....What happened?" She tried to sit up, but Harry stopped her. "Shhh, you need to take it easy. You've lost a lot of blood." Nikki frowned, as her memories of what had happened starting coming back to her, and a tear rolled down her cheek. Suddenly her expression changed to one of worry. "Maddy?" she exclaimed, "where's Maddy?" Harry looked from Nikki, to the girl still curled up on the chair. Nikki followed Harry's gaze. When she saw the girl she burst into tears as Maddy stood up and walked over to the beed, looking at Nikki timidly. Nikki reached over and grabbed the girls hand, all the while never taking her eyes off the girl. She looked her up and down, from her matted hair, to her pale face, to her dirty, torn dress and her thin body. "My little Mads, what have they done to you?" Nikki pulled the girl closer and hugged her tightly, not wanting to let go. "Niks," the girl whispered as she rested her head on Nikki's shoulder, tears rolling down her cheek. For a change, they were tears of happiness. "I never thought I would see you again." Nikki whispered back. It had been about 8 years since her sister had gone missing, and wrongly confirmed dead. Nikki pulled the girl away from her and looked her into her eyes, "my little baby Maddy." she stated. Maddy giggled. "Nikki, I'm an adult now!" Nikki just shook her head, "you'll always be my little baby sister to me." Maddy stuck her tongue out at Nikki and Harry couldn't help but laugh at how similar she was to her older sister, and after the last couple of days he could do with a laugh. He was sure Nikki was glad of it too.

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**So I know they were laughing and joking pretty quickly, but heh I'm in too much of a good mood to write lots of crying :P Besides, Nikki has Maddy back! What's not to be happy about ^_^ Oh and it's not finished yet, there is still a chapter or two to go, which I haven't started yet but the ideas are up here *taps head***


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